Southern California started to count the cost of a series of wildfires that swept through the region over the weekend as fierce winds died down today.

Thousands of people began to return home after being evacuated, and hundred of homes were destroyed as the fires raged from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles and Orange County, burning a total of 35,000 acres (14,000 hectares).

Just one death was reported in the fires, although rescuers continued to search through a mobile home park north of downtown Los Angeles where 500 homes were destroyed.

The fires left a thick layer of ash and orange smoke over much of the region. Air quality remained poor, with several schools closed and authorities urged residents to remain indoors or avoid exertion.

Whipped up by Santa Ana winds gusting up to 85mph, fires merged together yesterday as firefighters played a game of cat and mouse with the flames. The capriciousness of the fires was illustrated in residential streets in Orange county and the San Fernando valley, where lone houses stood untouched by the fire while neighbouring structures had burned to the ground.

Although the causes of the fires remained unknown, investigators said that the first fire to break out, the Tea Fire in the chic Santa Barbara suburb of Montecito, was "human caused". Officials speculated that the origin of the fire could have been a local landmark popular with teenagers.

While the fire in Monetcito saw celebrity residents including Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe forced to evacuate their homes, a fire that broke out yesterday morning in the Orange county area of Diamond Bar affected a different celebrity category. Homes in the exclusive area, whose celebrity residents include the rapper Snoop Dogg, tend to feature tennis courts and Roman columns.

Firefighters working throughout yesterday, supported by helicopters and aircraft dropping fire retardant, were aided by a fall in wind speed. This morning saw winds of 20mph in the area. Temperatures also fell today from unseasonal highs of 35C (95F) over the weekend.

This weekend's wildfires come just over a month after a series of fires raged through the area, and a little over a year since 30 fires burned in southern California, leading to the evacuation of half a million people and causing damage to 2,000 homes.